"Instructions for the Local Church: Care for One Another" - 1 Timothy 5

Well this morning, church, we are once again privileged uh to sit under the preaching of the holy word of God.

Uh if you would stand with me in respect and reverence of God's word, uh Brian is gonna be taking in as his text today the entire chapter of 1 Timothy chapter 5.

1 Timothy 5 · chapter mention

So looking forward to that.

I'm gonna read it for you, read along.

Silence.

Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters in all purity.

Honor widows who are widows indeed.

But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family, and to make some return to their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God.

Now she who is a widow indeed, and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God, and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.

But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead, even while she lives.

Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach.

But if any one does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works, and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work, but refuse to put younger widows on the list.

For when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge.

At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house and not merely idle, but also gossips and busy bodies, talking about things not proper to mention.

Therefore I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, give the enemy no occasion for reproach, for some have already turned aside to follow Satan.

If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them, and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed.

The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

For the Scripture says, You shall not muzzle an ox while he is threshing, and the laborer is worthy of his wages.

Do not receive an accusation against an elder, except on the basis of two or three witnesses.

Those who continue in sin rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of his chosen angels to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.

Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others.

Keep yourself free from sin.

No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment.

For others their sins follow after.

Likewise also deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

This is the word of God.

Brian, would you please come?

Church, please be seated.

I'm gonna move this.

Father, we thank you again for the opportunity to be here in worship.

What a gift, what a privilege that you would call us to this place.

Father, we ask you that you would be glorified and exalted as we worship you through the preaching of the word, the hearing and the applying of your truth.

Lead and guide us, lead and guide my heart, my mouth, my mind, as I proclaim the truth, and as we all intake that which you would have for us.

May your name be glorified, we pray in Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, I want to begin by making a very obvious statement, and that is this the Church of Jesus Christ is to care for one another.

I know.

It's good stuff, isn't it?

And the Bible actually tells us how to do this.

Now you may be asking yourselves at this point, the entire chapter?

Care for one another?

Did he not have time to study this week?

I mean, kind of Christianity 101, no-brainer, right?

Christians care for one another.

And yeah, it is.

It is kind of an obvious thing, but how many of us actually see and understand all that the Bible has to say in regards to how we are to interact and to care for one another?

More than just what we're born with or what mom and dad said.

We all know it speaks to this.

Do we know, but do we know, for an example, what was just read?

Do we know that and understand what are the qualifications for whether or not a widow is to be on the list?

And what does that even mean?

You see, the Bible actually does get very, very specific in regards to how Christians are to care for one another.

It doesn't just say love and figure it out, it gives us everything we need.

We as Christians who are indwelt with the Spirit of God, we naturally have an innate desire to want to serve people, to put others in the church before ourselves.

We have this inward desire to care for one another in the church.

I mean, if we don't have that desire, that urging, that unction, if you will, we may need to check our heart to see if we're actually in Christ.

The world will know that you are my disciples by what does Jesus say?

How you love one another.

First John says that if we don't love the brethren, i.e.

the church, then we're just not a part of God's family.

Therefore, the obvious conclusion is that since you can find love in almost every place in the world, this must mean that Christian love is unique, different, and far more expansive, right?

Obvious.

It must mean that it is something that we can only accomplish because of what he has done and is doing in our hearts.

So that kind of care is a care that comes really from Christ Himself and is therefore lived out in and among his people.

But almost always, we desperately need his help in understanding what that looks like, right?

Because we always go to our natural, what would I do?

It's not about what would I do, it was about what would Christ have us do.

And so, therefore, if anybody in the world can love, if if anyone in the world can care for somebody else, but the Christian's loving care is to look different than the world, then how do we come to understand that?

What informs that, if you will?

We need another authority, then, don't we?

And we know what authority it is.

It is the Word of God that teaches us how to care for one another.

So that's what we're gonna dive into.

And so today as we dig into this passage, we're gonna see a few, this isn't exhaustive, but we're gonna see a few ways in which the church is called to care for one another, and that's why I selected the entire chapter.

And uh, when you hear the sound, the horn, the noon whistle go off, I'll be about a third of the way in, just so you know.

So buckle up.

So what we're gonna see is we're gonna see how the church is to care for one another, uh, for those who are in sin, specifically pointing out based on their age demographic.

That's the first portion.

Then we're gonna see how the church is supposed to care for widows.

And then finally, we're gonna see how the church is supposed to care for and even call out, as needed, those who are elders or pastors in the church.

So, one thing we must understand as we dive into this passage, this chapter, is that it is meant to reveal really what I want to say is a heavenly way of relating to one another.

Okay?

What I mean is that this is yet another occasion in the scriptures where we see God calling his people to become what they already are in the eternal sense of things.

And so what he's saying is he's calling them and us to live out lives of faith that points to the restoration of all things.

And so by living this way, by caring for one another in this way, what's happening is the church ends up becoming a picture of Christ and his kingdom to a fallen world.

It's a witness and an example.

And so, as we live out what we're about to see in this text, we will be showing a dying world the power of the gospel in action and the transformation that has occurred in each one of us.

That's the message that we've heard and believed.

It will show itself in how we care for one another, it will become obvious.

It is the word of God that reveals this to us by his Spirit, and it is therefore the word that tells us how to do this.

As I mentioned, we have three pieces or three groups, if you will, of people addressed here.

The first one is found in the first two verses.

Look at those again with me.

What we see here is really how to care, okay, and this is loving care, how to care for all who are in sin based on their age or gender demographic.

Now, I know these verses don't use the word sin, so how do we know that Paul is specifically speaking of people who are in sin and how to care for them?

Look at the very first words of the chapter and it gives it away, as those Paul is beginning to address.

He says, Do not sharply rebuke an older man.

Why would you have to rebuke somebody?

If they were living in sin is the only answer in the church.

So Paul gives us some instruction on how to do this in each stage of life.

Don't you just love it?

As we've been going through 1 Timothy, man, the Bible gets really specific in how we are to interact, how we are to worship, how we are to care for one another.

It's awesome.

We're not left alone in anything.

And so what we see first here is the older men.

Paul is telling Timothy he is to treat the older men in the church with respect.

Got to remember, Timothy's young here.

He's probably early to mid-30s, maybe even younger.

We're not sure, but we know he's young, younger than most in the church.

And so Paul does not want Timothy to forget to treat these older men and women in the church without concern for their age.

He wants him to treat them as he would his own father, is what he's getting at.

And you see, our culture is a little different, but in that day and age, it would have been absolutely unheard of for a child to rebuke his own father in harsh words.

Now we see it every time you go to the grocery store, it seems.

It always indicates, at least in the New Testament, physical violence against someone, as in the case of the qualifications for elders in the third chapter that we looked at, where Timothy is told not to appoint an elder who is given to violence.

This is not peaceable.

That's the same wording used here.

And so here it is obviously referring to physical violence.

It's not referring to physical violence, but harsh and uncalled for words and attitude, violent things, if you will.

In Titus chapter 1, we see uh Paul's admonition to actually do this.

Titus 1 · chapter mention

Uh he tells Titus, sharply rebuke false teachers.

Those ones come into the church.

He basically says, get in their face, if you will.

Finger in the chest kind of idea.

That's good for those in the church when the wolves come seeking to kill and to destroy.

Get in their face, strongly rebuke them.

But never, according to chapter 5, verse 1, never with an older man, older brother in the faith.

The older men and women are to be treated with respect, even if they're in sin.

Notice here that in no way, shape, or form is Timothy to simply allow sin to go undisciplined in the church.

Paul is just directing him on how to enact this kind of church discipline with various people when needed.

Again, when needed.

Appeal to them.

Appeal to them.

Appeal to them as family members.

To the older men as fathers, to the younger, or the older women as mothers, the younger men as brothers, the younger women as sisters in the faith.

And so what he's indicating is with the older ones, with gentleness and respect.

Follow the Bible's commands.

In Matthew 18, 1 Corinthians 5, we get directions on what discipline looks like in the church.

Don't ever be harsh with them, Paul is saying.

They're as fathers and mothers to you.

And we know the law, don't we?

The Ten Commandments, what does it say?

Honor your father and your mother.

To the younger ones, they're as siblings to you.

You can speak a little stronger with your siblings of similar age, I think, in a little different ways.

But yet it can never be done without gentleness, compassion, love, and respect.

And so what I love about these titles that Paul forces us to reckon with in regards to the church being a family is that it shows us something really important.

Wherever you're at, we're all on the same level before God, aren't we?

Just because a leader needs to lovingly call somebody out in their sin, that doesn't mean that they are better.

And so the one who is confronting either the elderly or the young, there needs to be this respectful compassion, loving humility, and a heart that desires above all reconciliation, oneness again.

And so that's Paul's heart, and that is what he's leading us to try to accomplish when these things transpire.

Never with shouting or overly harsh words or tone, but rather as in appeal.

I love you.

The thrust behind the Greek word that is used here is translated, that's translated appeal as pericaleo.

It is to ask for earnestly, to beg, to plead.

I urge you, my father in the faith, sister in the faith, turn from your sin, return to your former love and your greatest treasure.

It's the image of what Paul's indicating is tears welling up for the one who is charged with doing the confronting.

You're like a mother to me, and yet I see this area in your life.

You're my brother, I care for you.

You're you're I cannot sit by and just watch this.

I love you way too much.

I appeal to you.

I'm pleading with you to go to God.

I will be here with you through it all.

That's loving care in the church.

Paul finishes that part of the interaction by reminding him again to be pure with his interaction with young women in the church.

He says, Treat the younger women in the church as your sisters with love, with honor, and with integrity.

Paul is no doubt looking back to what he said in verse 12 of the previous chapter, chapter uh chapter 4.

Conduct yourself with speech, love, faith, purity, as an example to the flock.

This kind of instruction here from Paul is meant so that so that Timothy can be instructed in how to care for the church when someone needs to be reproved or rebuked, the stronger is rebuked.

That is genuine Christian love and care.

Do we see it that way today?

Maybe not.

But that's still what the Bible teaches us.

That's how to care for one another when somebody's in public sin.

Okay, as he continues on in how to care for one another, Paul then, in that same vein, moves on in the text to the next part of what he says in how to do this, and he says, in light of this, make sure you're caring for widows as well.

That's my phrase.

Care for the widows.

How are we to care for widows?

Well, he just kind of describes it at length over the next 14 verses.

He begins by telling us to honor them.

Again, back to that same thing.

Honor the widows.

Paul doesn't want the church to see the widow as a burden or just an obligation.

But to honor them with your respectful and charitable countenance.

In chapter 6 of the book of Acts, we see that some of the widows in the church, specifically what's called the Hellenistic or Greek widows, were being neglected.

Not in a sinful way, but just because really a lack of structure in the leadership.

And so they took measures to make sure that would never happen again.

It has always been the Bible's teaching that we are to care for and honor the widows.

And of course, we usually see that coupled with orphans.

All over the pages of Scripture, we see references for how the people of God are to care for widows in the church.

One example all the way back to the Old Testament, where we see God's fierce concern for the widows, is found in Exodus 22, where the law is being handed down and described to the people, and we see that God instructs and commands his people to care for the widows and orphans as the law is being put forward.

That must be important.

The Lord truly cares for those who are destitute and dependent.

And so Paul is going to give Timothy all the instruction he needs to make sure this happens rightly and biblically.

He tells us who to care for and what are the qualifications for them to be on the list.

Look at verse 4.

He begins with telling them really what widows should be on the list.

She is to be a woman who is without children and grandchildren who can care for her.

The church is to be relieved of the task of caring for the widow in the church if she has family that can do this.

This not only relieves the church of the financial responsibility, but it also allows the children and grandchildren to fulfill their God-given calling and therefore the law of God.

And as we look into this chunk of scripture that deals with how to care for widows, we must remember that in that day and age, most women in the society were unable to earn a paycheck.

They had no means of providing for themselves.

There's no life insurance if their husband died, unless they happened to be independently wealthy.

There was no Social Security, no welfare, no Medicare.

There was the family and the church.

In fact, the reason there are such governmental programs such as those today is because of the charity of the Christian church has influenced that.

The government sought to duplicate by regulation or law what the church has always done by charity.

And what we find historically is that many times when a woman would come to the faith, especially in the New Testament, when a Christian, when a woman would become a Christian, the husband would leave her and thereby leave her destitute.

Notice, never has a church ever been called to support all of the widows in the city in which it ministers.

That can't happen, even if the city is small.

What Paul is saying here is that the church's obligation is to the widow in the church, and if she is a widow, indeed, if you will, she is one who is a faithful believer, he says, one who has no familial support, older than 60, and one that isn't going to marry.

And those last two coupled together.

That is the one whom the church is obligated to come alongside of and privileged to come alongside of in whatever way needed.

I want to look at those things briefly.

Verse 4 again points us to see that the widow that the church supports will be one that has no family.

As I said, it says that the one who has the family and the family cares for her as they ought, it's acceptable in God's sight.

Okay, good, you're fulfilling what I told you to.

It fulfills the scriptures all the way back to Exodus.

Exodus 20, especially.

Honor your father and your mother.

If that's not taking place, if there's no family, then she needs to be on the list.

Before we move on, we must note verse 8 here.

Look at verse 8 again with me.

This passage has been used often, rightly so.

Says, but if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Ooh, that stings.

And so the family, the children and the grandchildren who do not have any concern for their widowed mother, are not living the Christian life.

They are disobedient and unfaithful to God and his word.

It's not saying that they're necessarily outright unbelievers, but it's saying that their lives are ones that constitute unbelief.

Their life is worse than that of the pagan who is living in outright rebellion against God.

That's what he says.

Without a life and ministry of compassion, the believer is a reproach upon the church, the name of God, and his family.

There's huge implications here, isn't it?

Now, this verse is speaking of and coming out of the context of caring for the widows in the family, but this is, of course, a general principle, an exhortation that most definitely applies to really the man who refuses to care for his family in every way.

If a man is able and refuses to work, again, notice that if he's able and refuses to work and therefore supplies family's needs, then he is acting as an unbeliever.

And even Paul says the pagan world will see him as a scar on society, essentially.

They'll see him as a lousy family member at best and a reproach on the gospel of Christ at worst.

That's what Paul's saying.

There's a lot of weight here.

Moving on, verse 5 gives us another qualification for the widow to be cared for the church.

So we have the familial one.

The family is not around, not able.

And so the church is called to care for her because she is what?

A faithful Christian.

Faithful Christian.

She has no income, no family, no transportation, no husband, no kids.

And so the implication is she is supposed to now spend time with the Lord and his people.

She is to give everything.

Like Anna, if you remember back in the Gospels, the elderly widow who served day and night in the temple as Jesus is born.

That's what the true widow on the list's life needs to look like.

Now, this is not saying that this widow never gets to leave her house or her knees in prayer.

This is speaking just really who she is, what her day consists of.

That's what she is to be known for.

A woman who has fixed her hope on God, a woman who is faithful in prayer and petition, a woman is just fixated on the hope of Christ.

And not, as Paul says in verse 6, her wanton pleasures.

He says that woman is already dead, spiritually speaking.

That is speaking of a woman who's already left the church after her husband has died.

She's given herself to every form of godlessness instead of prayer and fixing her hope on Christ and serving the church.

And again, another qualification for a widow to be cared for by the church and to be on the list for her needs, she needs to be older than 60.

That seems odd.

What Paul is getting at here by saying that is that she is to be past the age of childbearing and remarriage.

I know in our day and age it isn't always a norm, but in that day and age, generally speaking, it was.

If she's up there in age, now forgive me, I'm just going on what Paul says here.

Remember, typically they didn't live nearly as long either.

There's pretty much no chance of her getting remarried.

That's the point.

After being that faithful wife and therefore being cared for by a new husband, then she is to be put on the list.

She's past that point.

She's to dedicate her life to Christ and his bride.

By the way, as a quick aside, this necessitates the church to know who's in and who's out, doesn't it?

They had membership.

That told them who was in the church and even more specifically, who is to be put on the list.

It's kind of hard to have a list of believing widows in the church that need to be cared for if you don't know who the church consists of in a formal way.

There needs to be a list and it's got to be accurate.

She is to be older than 60 and have been faithful to her husband.

Verse 10.

She is also to have a reputation of good works.

Has she cared for others?

Has she faithfully reared her children andor helped with the children in the church, maybe?

Has she cared for other widows?

Has she shown hospitality?

Has she washed the feet of the saints?

It's not exactly normal for us today.

Point is, Paul is saying, does she serve the church?

Does she care for and love the bride of Christ?

You see, when travelers would come to her home and their feet were all dusty and dirty because they had sandals on and they're in the desert, does she wash them off?

Not because she's worried about her new carpet, but because she is concerned with others' needs.

Does she care for the sick?

Does she support the needy?

Does she comfort the downcast?

Does she devote her life to Christ and his bride?

Really, is she living out the Christian life?

If not, then she'll be prone to forsake Christ as she has cared for.

Kind of that entitlement, enabled attitude.

She may muddy the witness of the church and feel entitled to sit back and just take.

Instead of giving her time in prayer.

Care for the body.

Doesn't matter.

I remember my grandma was on her last few years of our last few months of life, and she was unable to move really.

She knew the Lord and believed, and she just felt horrible because she couldn't do anything.

And I just tried to remind her, pray.

Your mind works.

Praise God for that.

And pray.

That's huge.

That's ministering.

That's loving the saints.

That's caring for your brothers and sisters.

Pray and pray often.

Paul goes on to say in verse 11 to refuse to put younger widow, younger women or younger widows on the list.

He tells us this because they need to get married instead.

Which, by the way, is in direct contradiction to what we heard previously, right?

About abstaining from marriage.

Last chapter.

He says, no, no, no.

They're to find another spouse if theirs passes away.

Why?

Well, here's an interesting historical context.

Roman law said that widowed women are to be married within two years if they're of marrying age.

That was their definition of welfare, if you will.

Glad we're not Romans?

But that's just a little thing.

A far more concerning and pressing issue for Paul was because he says their sensual desires will get in the way of their devotion to Christ as a widow.

He says their pledge.

If they're young and single, they'll be tempted to sin in their desires.

And so when he says previous pledge here in verse 12, Paul is in no way saying that getting remarried after her husband dies is a bad thing.

He is speaking to the younger women, younger women, younger widows, who have already pledged themselves to the Lord as that widow who is just simply caring for the church.

Okay, I'm just going to devote myself.

This is my pledge.

I'm in, I'm in, and then she forsakes that pledge.

And so he says it's just better for them to get married again.

Paul is saying that in that time they'll probably want to be married again, therefore do not allow them to be on the list of widows who are pledging the rest of their lives in devotion in this way.

He also says that in that time, as younger widows, they would be prone to going from house to house in gossip sessions.

They go from house to house in order to serve the saints, but what happens is they're tempted to be busybodies and gossips, being idle in their time.

That kind of life, by the way, is absolutely disastrous for the Church of Jesus Christ.

Its witness and its progress in faithfulness.

You see, if gossip and idle chatter characterizes the women of the church, then the church will be diminished in its ministry, and the ones involved will be seen as advancing the will of Satan and not the will of God.

So therefore, Paul just says, you know, have them get married again.

To be brought under the headship of a godly man.

They can rear more children and keep house.

Again, not a super popular statement there by Paul, is it?

But that's Paul's direction for what a younger woman, a younger widow, ought to be doing.

Rearing more children, loving their husband, and keeping house.

That's what he says.

And I love what comes out of that.

In doing these things, the enemy will not have an occasion to cause reproach upon the church.

It's a beautiful thing.

And in verse 16, Paul gives us more teaching on the widows.

Here he actually says that widows are to participate in the care of other widows as well.

We see this being lived out in the book of Acts with a woman named Tabitha or Dorcas.

It says that she was a woman abounding with deeds of kindness and charity continually.

But then she suddenly dies.

But when she does die suddenly, all the widows whom she had been caring for showed up and brought with them all the things that Tabbit had made for them.

She was a servant and had this ministry.

Are you seeing the calling in the church and the widows in this caring relationship, that mutuality there?

The church is to, of course, to support the true widow, and the widow is to pledge herself to the church.

To the younger women, younger widows, to the children in the church, strangers, serve the saints, that's the kind of their new calling.

But the younger widows, they're to remarry and have children if possible.

Flourish in that role because it will be a blessing to the church as they live out that faithfulness.

Okay, so there's two portions of caring for one another.

Now we got to the third, the last one.

There's one more area here.

This one has to do with elders.

Not necessarily elderly, but leaders.

Paul here describes the church's responsibility and how it is to care for the ones whom God has called to be its shepherds.

And he does this, I would say, in five ways.

We're going to quickly go through this.

He starts by telling us that the elder who rules well shall be worthy of double honor.

Now, this is not my favorite passage to preach on as one of the church elders.

But this is what Paul is saying: that the one who shepherds the flock is worthy of double honor.

The one who pours himself out for the flock is worthy of double honor.

The one who rules well, that's the one who sacrificially serves and ministers to the flock, and he does this as he is led by the Spirit through the Word.

Therefore, secondly, again, not my favorite passage to preach on, I'll tell you why in just a second.

The one who gives himself, the one who works hard at preaching and teaching, Paul says, is worthy of special honor, and it goes on to say in verse 18, to not muzzle the ox and pay the laborer for his wages.

Now, this is not my favorite passage to preach on, partly because it speaks of my position as a paid position.

Makes it a little awkward, but that's okay.

It's a word of God, I'm good with it.

But really the part that I have the hardest time with is you have to couple this with what James says in the third chapter of his letter.

And that's this.

I'm not going to go read it, but with that double honor comes double the judgment for unfaithfulness.

That's hard.

That's a hard weight.

Hebrews 13, 17 says that the elders are accountable before God, not just for themselves, not just for their family and their home, but for the flock, for the church.

That's why there's the double honor.

It's not just because they're super special Christians.

Because as the word gives life to the hearers as it is taught, the one who receives it is blessed by hard work and the diligent study that was poured over it.

This is what has always just absolutely baffled me about churches or preachers who hardly crack open their Bibles when preaching and teaching.

They just do this topic or that topic.

No, just expose what's in the text, it's enough.

Now I know we're going through 1 Timothy and it's super practical.

It's a little different than say going through Ephesians or something, but man, this is the word of God.

What else could I do?

And especially when there's this double judgment, double honor thing.

Where's the honor in me just talking about me?

The honor, the ability to be paid in this work comes from a diligent study of the word that the Lord Himself has called us to.

Verse 18 says it is worthy of compensation.

Thirdly, since the Bible says that these men are given to the church by God Himself, since they are, as Acts 20 and other places, rulers in the church, since they are worthy of double honor, do not accuse them hastily, Paul says.

Actually, Paul says, don't even bring an accusation against them unless it's brought by multiple people with corroborating stories.

Don't even entertain the person who comes alone to accuse an elder.

In the Old Testament, we see many times the need for witnesses in the plural to be present if there's an accusation.

How much more is this deserved for those who have been verified by the flock brought by God as an accusation comes?

This is true and genuine care for the flock in this faithful instruction.

And on the heels of that, fourthly, Paul is going to then tell him what to do if there is an elder in sin in this way, and it's publicly known.

To care for the flock of God, sin must be dealt with.

He says to make the continuing sin of the leader public.

Not right away, of course.

We've got to follow the steps given us in Matthew 18.

But it's that unrepentant, notice that unrepentant, ongoing sin in his life that needs public light on it in the presence of all, Paul says.

The church.

This is communicating that the public church discipline will be a blessing to the man in sin and to the church.

Because as we know from Matthew 18, again, the purpose isn't to kick people, it's reconciliation.

But here it says that others are going to be blessed because they will see and may even be a little fearful of what's going on in their own lives.

They may turn from their sin at the public call for repentance from an elder.

So Paul gives us instruction in that.

And then lastly, Paul reminds Timothy to be careful, to care for the church by selecting elders, not based on achievements or status, but on godliness.

Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, Paul says.

Meaning, don't be hasty to appoint elders in the church.

That's a huge statement made by Paul, isn't it?

And we need to heed this.

If we do appoint an elder hastily, a guy comes in and he looks nice, guy, seems to know the Bible, and like, all right, you're good.

You own a business.

Let's make you an elder.

If that happens, and that man does fall into public egregious sin, the rest of the leaders and even the church are culpable in this for his sin.

Now that doesn't mean that at any time an appointed elder sins, the church is now responsible for that, but if the church didn't do dil do, you know where I'm going with this, right?

Okay.

Due diligence and patiently testing and observing a future elder candidate, and that man proves to be unfit for the office and falls into that sinful lifestyle that they didn't even check to see.

Then the elders who brought that man forward, and given our church polity here, the church as a whole is responsible.

That's huge.

Paul then goes on in verse 23, parenthetically, to tell Timothy, hey, I love you, I care for you.

Drink a little wine.

Seems like a totally disconnected thing.

But again, he's telling, how do you how do you care?

How do you how do you lead?

How do you do this well?

Timothy, you got stomach problems.

Take a little wine.

Wine has been known to bring good health and even been a preventative.

As long as somebody can restrain themselves and consume in moderation, of course.

Paul tells him this here and then finishes up the chapter really by returning to what he's already addressed and how to spot the right elder.

It's all about loving and caring for one another biblically.

It's a beautiful chapter that gives us a lot.

And I know we just kind of skimmed it.

So go back and study it this week in even more detail, maybe.

If you have any questions, let me know.

But here's the thing.

Here's what I want to finish up our time here this morning.

And that is really with an encouragement when thinking of the care that is to take place in the church.

Now, I could stand up here and speak about how great this church cares for one another, right?

I could share some awesome stories.

My family and I have been here a little over a year and a half.

We've seen some great stories of sacrificial love, caring for the body.

We've been recipients of it.

I could finish this morning by calling some of you out, making you stand up and raise your hand, your faithfulness, and then you would want to flog me later.

But I think we'd be much better served as a church by just having our minds and our affections once again pointed to Jesus Christ.

And here's what I mean.

Now, if you ever want to see perfect care for a widow in the scriptures, where do you turn?

You turn to the Gospels and you see how from the cross Jesus cared for his own mother, who is a widow.

He knew that his widowed mother would now be left without his support, and so he told John the Apostle, You need to care for my mother.

As someone who's in the faith, that's the church.

Remember, Jesus' family wasn't following Jude and James.

They weren't following after at this moment.

It wasn't until after his death that they did.

So he knew he needed the church, and specifically John.

He gave John that charge care for my widowed mother.

Think about it.

As he's dying, as he's absorbing the wrath of the Father, he's bleeding to death.

He had huge spikes to death.

His body.

He's racked with fever.

Sick as you could be.

His back is just rubbing up and down on this rough wood as he's being mocked and scorned by those creatures that he made.

In that moment, he thought of his mother.

He thought of his widowed mother.

He always thought of others, didn't he?

Still does.

That's why he went to the cross.

He's also the perfect elder that is worthy of all the honor that always perfectly cares for the flock.

There can never be an accusation against the spotless lamb for failing to shepherd his church.

He always speaks exactly what needs to be said to the older man, the younger man, the older woman, the younger woman.

He speaks perfect words of compassion that always projected truth that is needed to put them back on the right track.

He's the perfect bridegroom.

We are all widows as we need his grace.

We are destitute and without any eternal provision in our sin.

And yet, as the perfect provider, protector, and husband, Jesus provides us with the eternal provision that is always needed to be in his presence to worship.

We were lost with no hope, and he provides everything we need.

We lack nothing in Christ, do we?

Always, without fail.

Think about it.

If a mere human or church leader is worthy of double honor, how much is Jesus worth?

How much honor should he receive?

Jesus is the perfect nurturer.

He cares for his bride perfectly.

Listen to the words of the newer hymn, Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery.

And I'm just going to read to you, absorb this.

Come behold the wondrous mystery in the dawning of the king.

He, the theme of heaven's praises, robed in frail humanity.

In our longing, in our darkness, now the light of life has come.

Look to Christ who condescended, took on flesh to ransom us.

What care?

Come behold the wondrous mystery.

He, the perfect Son of Man, in his living, in his suffering, never trace nor stain of sin.

See the true and better Adam come to save the hell-bound man.

Christ, the great and sure fulfillment of the law, in him we stand.

Come behold the wondrous mystery.

Christ the Lord upon the tree, in the stead of ruined sinners, hangs the lamb in victory.

See the price of our redemption?

See the Father's plan unfold, bringing many sons to glory, grace unmeasured, love untold.

Come behold the wondrous mystery, slain by death, the God of life.

But no grave could e'er restrain him.

Praise the Lord, he is alive.

What a foretaste of deliverance! How unwavering our hope.

Christ in power resurrected as we will be when he comes.

What care and provision he provides.

He is worthy of all honor and praise right now.

He is the great provider and comforter.

He has shown what it is to care for others.

He is Lord and He is Savior.

We lack nothing if we are His, because we are called His treasure, His chosen possession.

He cares for us perfectly.

What about us, church?

How do we care for each other?

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for the provision, the strength, and the grace of Christ Jesus your Son, whom you sent to redeem and ransom a people such as us, do not deserve a single ounce of grace, yet you pour it out without measure.

Father, may we be a people who emulate our Savior Jesus Christ and how we truly, readily, willingly, joyfully care for each other.

May we do this in the ways that your word teaches with love and compassion and with truth.

And may your name be glorified in this work.

We pray this all in Christ's name.

Amen.